First time experience

I did a sale for the first time sushi outdoors.

We get participated National food contest in November 1st and 2nd.
We made sushi and sold it from inside of kitchen car.

1st day was raining.
Actually I drove a car of 8 hours in the middle of the night to Tokyo and
after we arrive, we had to start work without any sleep so
the 1st day was pretty tired lol.

but 2nd day was very good weather and We sold ok.

We sold this kind of old style "Osaka sushi(box sushi)"

and roll sushi.

My mother and I were keep making sushi all the time, 

and my wife , kids and my  cousin and her girlfriend also helped.

It was a most biggest challenge this year for our family.

also,My SW friends who lives in Tokyo visited our booth,
It was great meeting with them!!!!


I brought my vegetable carving and decorate them.
Seems like customer enjoyed veggie art too!

Goodbye Tokyo......See you next time!!
Thank you for my friends.

Vote for National local food contest.

In Tokyo, there will be held a food contest, "Jibamon Kokumin Taisyou" means the National local food award." in November 1st and 2nd.


This time, Our Sushi cake has been selected as district representative of the Kinki area!!
24 products have been nominated from all over Japan.


Osaka Sushi is a traditional local  sushi in Kinki area.
Actually, Osaka Sushi exists from ancient times than nigiri sushi

You make sushi using this kind of boxes.
Therefore, it is called " Hako(box) sushi" also.

Put the fillets of fish, then put the rice, and press from the top of the lid.
Then took of  the sushi from the box.

I arranged this "hako sushi" into the shape of a cake.
That is why I named this sushi cake as "Osaka Sushi Cake"

Therefore, "Osaka Sushi Cake" is a sushi that the old and new　fation!!

I prepare a lot of ingredients for this sushi cake.
/ell
/see bream
/salmon for gravlax
/shari (rice)
/shrimp
/seeweed
/kelp

Now the web vote opened at the special site below until oct.27th.

There are a  facebook"like"button underneath on each dishes.

please click "like" if you find your favorite dish....
and my sushi cake!
Thank you!

vote at website in  "Jibamon kokumin taisyou"(national local food award)

Osaka piece tower

My work showed on in part of  TV program "OSAKA Honwaka TV" (which means..let's say... OSAKA Relax TV)
I have made a lot of vegetable carving.

I have made a main personality "master Jinpachi".

I made him with sweet potato  from his picture.

I made sushi cake too!!! but this wasn't show up on tv.
but TV crew took a wonderful picture, so let me put this on here.

This is the main vegetable carving! I name it "the OSAKA peace tower".
the Pumpkin in Japan is very hard.
That is why I used the saw to slice them in 4 pieces.

I made small parts and build them on pumpkin
just like the picture below.

1st level : 2 elephants (sweet potatos)

2nd level : 3 swans (kyo-potatos)

3rd level:  3 hearts (red(pink) daikon)

They are the symbol of peace and happiness,
That is why I build them.

on the top...... yes, it's phoenix!!
made with carrot.

Then......complete!!!
In order to make the intervals of work these,
I do not know the exact production time....
but I guess I need ten ours for this.

Thank you everyone!

Question and Answer

Thank you for sending me your question about sushi and vegetable carving through e-mail and comment on this blog.

This time I'ld like to answer some of your Questions.


Q1,about sushi cake.
Do you cut them into slices or do they come apart like individual rolls?
A :Yes
I or customers cut the sushi cake into pieces like below.
8-10 peaces...It's up to you!
  

Do you incorporate any sauce to act as frosting?

not especially. When you eat.. I recommend just soy sauce because

I want you to taste it simple way.

Sushi rice and seafood...as it is the taste of nature.

Q2. Could you please explain the steps and equipements used for 

making each item (of vegetable carving)?

A: Here is some example.

It looks likely difficulty If you look at the finished photo, but it is not to difficult to do it little by little.

you need to prepare a small and thin knife.

I use my own Japanese traditional knife,

but you can use the knife for fruit carving knife too.

You can find this one at any place , I think.

first of all, I will cut Daikon into round slices to about 8cm.

then I draw a draft of the rabbit.

Then, along the picture wrote, to cut the depth.

To cutting the corners of all, try to make them rounds.

Then, Then the front, back side cut corners in the same way.

Complete!   All you need is practice practice and practice!!

next.

Q. I heard that near Lake Biwa in Japan there is trdition to prepare sushi using comon carp meat. 

Do you know If common carp sushi would be good and taste?

A: I think you are mentioning about , "FUNAZUSHI"

it is a Crucian carp sushi.

It is a traditional food to make a special recipe from more than 1000 years ago.

I never try to make this sushi but here is the step.

/put a lot of salt on the fish　and leave them on 3 month.

 /wash and clean(take the scale) the fish

/put the rice a lot on and around fish

/then leave them for few more month for let them fermentation.

I found the video. it's run by Japanese subtitle but you'll see how to make.

youtube---　FUNAZUSHI

as you can see, to make this sushi, I think you need a lot of fish at once and 

need experience.

I hope this will help for you guys!

Autumn has come!

The summer was very hot here in Osaka.....but

Now is september and feels like an agreeable season has come!

I made a lot of sushi cake in this summer.
Let me introduce some of them.

I use a lot of time to make each one...I always try to make sushi cake
as wonderful gift for the customer.


Birthday present who loves the baseball.
the ball made by squid and nori.
The cap and uniform were made by vegetables.

Premium sushi cake.

The Birthday present for kids Who loves this animation.

This was my friend's order who own his wine shop.

I carved himself with carrot and sweetpotato looking at his picture on iphone.

if you are living in Kyoto area and if you look for the wonderful wine......
visit his wine shop!!
Carve tanakaya




This is  sushi cake for take-out.

This was an order from company of company of car auction.

Birthday gift from the lady to her father.

It was a gift for the person who loves one's dog.

and more....



Let me say , Congratulations everyone, and thank you so much!


When I make a sushi cake for special order,  the price is become higher, but
I think good surprise for the guest for sure.

Visit my shop  if you live in Japan!  Minayoshi' s Sushi Cake

The way of thinking about Sashimi

I sometimes make large Sashimi plate.

I use a lot kind of fish for this plate.

Let's look at one by one. 

  I served Halkbeak in two ways.

you can watch larger pic when you click below, if you like :).

This is a Turban shell.

I served part of a meat  for raw.

I boiled liver and also boiled shell because of sanitation.

Next, let's look at Main fish....Maguro(tuna) and salmon.

The picture of above is amberjack,

below is Maguro.

Salmon and ikura(salmon roe).

This is called "hamo"(sharp toothed ell).

It is well known as a fish of summer.

This fish has a lot of small bone so We need to cut bone finely in this way.

We call this work "Honekiri"

Then we boild just a second, and put into ice water for let it cool.

please taste this with plum meat.

and last....Here is very beautiful fresh sea bleam. 

It was very fresh and hard so I cut into thin sliced.

I always try to decorate them just like when they were in the sea.

We'll return them to the plate of a sea.

It's a wonderful small world in vegetable carving 2

It is a series of small vegetable carving "no.2"

I hope you enjoy them :)

Here are handy piano and chairs made with sweet potato and zucchini.

The books of pumpkin.....

It is a stuffed animal made with pumpkin.

Frog of cucumber

Sweet potato crane with pumpkin tires.

100% Carrot power shovel.

Veggie truck

The rabbit of carrot and sweet potato 

Those small vegetable carvings are for sushi cake(the photo below).

Which one was your favorite?
Thank you for watching :)